Intake, compression, power, exhaust. That is the 4-stroke cycle of the engine in your car, truck, or motorcycle. Sure, there are some variations, but the principle remains the same. Over a century of planning, research, engineering, testing, and improvements has gone into the internal combustion engine waiting for us to turn the key or push the button. That doesn’t count all the other bits and pieces required for a car to safely get us to where we are going. And, yes, this is going somewhere.
Our next verse concerning unmasked love is this: “Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit; serve the Lord.” (Romans 12:11, CSB) Three points, all tied together, touch our readiness, enthusiasm, and purpose. Our cars are an apt simile for understanding this encouragement.
Do not lack diligence in zeal. That’s an odd combination. We don’t normally think of zeal as being planned or prepared. I see in this phrase a readiness for action, like our car’s engine. It’s not just some random bits of metal. It is engineered down to the thousandths of an inch to run. Right now, my car is sitting in the garage; the engine is cold but ready to spring into action when I turn the key. Peter wrote, “but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15, CSB)
Be fervent in the Spirit. Just as car engines require fuel, our hearts require the fire of the Holy Spirit. We need the Spirit to empower us to go from a cold block of metal to a rumbling engine capable of doing all sorts of things. In this empowerment is enthusiasm, an overwhelming boiling over of the desire to move. But it is not enthusiasm for its own sake; it comes from the Holy Spirit. His desires become our desires. His passion becomes our passion. And that motivates us to act.
Serve the Lord. All that planning and power is going somewhere specific. Our car’s engine can’t go anywhere on its own. Someone has to drive the car towards a destination. The destination for our Holy Spirit-fueled, ready enthusiasm is to serve the Lord. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23–24, CSB)
There are many ways to serve. All of them are valuable. This verse reminds us to check our motives and direction. That is the love-unmasked point. Are we serving the Lord or our own needs? Are we empowered by the Holy Spirit, or are we trying to do this in our own strength? Are we diligently zealous as we serve, or are we carelessly doing it out of habit?
Sometimes we need to step back. Stop doing for a season to let the Lord refresh our zeal, enthusiasm, and direction. Those step-back seasons are valuable. Sometimes they lead to the Lord pruning our service so we can better focus on fewer opportunities. Those seasons can also reaffirm what the Lord has given us for the body of Christ. But more than anything, those seasons give us space to consider our service, our eagerness in the Spirit, and our purposed zeal.
- Love Unmasked – Ready to Serve - November 11, 2026
- Love Unmasked – Honor - November 4, 2026
- Love Unmasked – Good and Evil - October 28, 2026
